Chapter 2

Salvation

David L. Williams
from Opening Spiritual Eyes

Scriptures Referenced in This Article:
          (Follow the Scripture links if you want to study the Scriptures for yourself.)
Luke 17:21

Strange as it may seem, the word “Salvation” is one of the most misunderstood words in the Bible. In the New Testament, the word is used in three tenses, with each having meaning different from the others. But if differentiation is not made as it is used, it causes erroneous beliefs and endless quarrels over whether works are needed for salvation. To understand the need for spiritual warfare, we must understand that foundational word. Let’s explore the tree tenses:

Simply, the tenses are; saved; being saved; and will be saved. In our confusion, we have narrowed the meaning to merely, “Going to Heaven.” But it is far more than that. Let’s take the three tenses one at a time, but in a different order for clarification:

1) Saved…. This one means, saved from hell.

3) Will be Saved…. This one means, going to Heaven and receiving our reward.

2) Being Saved…. This one is far more complicated, and takes place between the other two. It is how we live our lives between Saved and Will be Saved. It is the working out of our salvation that Paul wrote about. It is the period of our spiritual warfare that determines our reward when our life is finished.

The Bible is rife with information that we will not all have the same rank once we get to Heaven. While it does not take works to earn salvation #1 above, it certainly takes works to earn our eternal rank. Jesus’ parables show this. Not all who are saved will end up as the Bride of Christ, as is being taught in error. Let’s look at some logic here to back up this thesis:

We are shown that all believers will be judged on our every deed and word in this life at our judgment. This is a different judgment than the unbelievers get. This one determines our level of reward. Now, if you think that we will all be changed (in every way) to be just like Jesus when we see Him as He is, then why would we still need judging? It would be senseless to judge us if we were exactly like Jesus at that time, wouldn’t it? It is far more likely that our bodies will change to be one like His. But the soul, which differentiates our individual personalities here, will still be individual in Heaven.

So it is all about saving our souls while here on earth, that we may become more like Him here and now. This indicates that something is wrong in our souls that must be changed, and each of us can witness to that. As we go on, we will show what is amiss in our souls, and how we can go about cleaning up the spots and ironing out the wrinkles through proper spiritual warfare.

The Bible uses parables in order to show us things about spiritual warfare. He uses visible things we can see in the O.T. to show us “Types,” so we can compare them with “Shadows,” things to show us the invisible spiritual meanings for our times. For example, the Israelites were told to go into the Promised Land, slay the inhabitants, and make it the Kingdom of God. This parallels our going into our souls, there to fight the giants within, to turn it into the Kingdom of God.

Jesus told us in Luke 17:21 ; top that the Kingdom is within us. Some later translations changed the “within” to be “in our midst.” But logic will show which translations are correct. As we go on we will show this logic and exactly who the giants are, and how they have intruded on “land” that was promised to us. We will also show how to take our inheritance back from them, making us once again in the image of God.

This is true spiritual warfare. Instead of the proper battleground, we have stayed in the wilderness fighting fleshly warfare against evil taking over the world. True enough, those battles are proper, but frankly, cannot be won until we return with Jesus to rule and reign forever. With that in mind, one can see that our earthly battle is little more than a holding action. But there is another battle, the proper one which must be fought within. Jesus told us to start in Jerusalem before going into Samaria and the rest of the world. We first need to start in our Jerusalem within, to become righteous soldiers of God, fit to fight for the world.


A Deeper Look at the Gospel π Sin and Iniquity
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